[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9687 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9687
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
revise regulations for certain individuals carrying out aviation
activities who disclose a mental health diagnosis, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 19, 2024
Mr. Casten (for himself and Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to
revise regulations for certain individuals carrying out aviation
activities who disclose a mental health diagnosis, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mental Health in Aviation Act of
2024''.
SEC. 2. REGULATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS CARRYING OUT AVIATION ACTIVITIES.
(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration
shall update regulations, including in part 67 of title 14 of Code of
Federal Regulations, as appropriate, and take any other actions
necessary to implement the recommendations of the aviation workforce
mental health task group established under section 411(d) the FAA
Reauthorization Act of 2024 to encourage individuals to--
(1) seek help for mental health conditions or symptoms of
mental health conditions; and
(2) to disclose conditions or symptoms described in
paragraph (1).
(b) Consultation.--In carrying out this section, the task group
described in subsection (a) shall consult with relevant stakeholders
from the aviation and medical communities, as necessary, including--
(1) the exclusive bargaining representatives of pilots and
air traffic controllers certified under section 7111 of title
5, United States Code;
(2) aviation medical examiners, as described in section
183.21 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations;
(3) organizations representing the individuals in
paragraphs (1) and (2); and
(4) any other stakeholder determined relevant by the task
group , including any stakeholders described in section
411(d)(3)(B) of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024.
(c) Report Requirements.--Section 411(d)(4) of the FAA
Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Public Law 118-63) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (C) by striking the period at the end
and inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) an evaluation of any recommendations reached
by the National Transportation Safety Board related to
aviation workforce mental health; and
``(E) a description of relevant clinical studies,
research, diagnostic manuals, and protocols used by the
licensed professionals as of the date of enactment of
this Act.''.
SEC. 3. ANNUAL REVIEW OF MENTAL HEALTH SPECIAL ISSUANCE PROCESS.
The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall
conduct an annual review, and update, as appropriate, the applicable
regulations and policies, on mental health-related special issuance for
pilots and air traffic controllers to--
(1) reclassify and approve additional medications that may
be safely prescribed to airmen to treat mental health
conditions;
(2) if the administrator determines appropriate, delegate
additional authority to aviation medical examiners; and
(3) improve the special issuance process for pilots and air
traffic controllers.
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION FOR ADDITIONAL AVIATION MEDICAL
EXAMINERS.
There is authorized to be appropriated $13,740,000 to the
Administrator for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2028 to--
(1) recruit, select, train, and delegate the necessary
authorities to additional aviation medical examiners and human
intervention motivation study aviation medical examiners,
including those who are psychiatrists;
(2) review and improve mental health care training for
aviation medical examiners;
(3) expand capacity to provide oversight of aviation
medical examiners and clear the backlog of special issuance
requests at the Office of Aerospace Medicine; and
(4) support any other related activities, as determined by
the Administrator.
SEC. 5. PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the
Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration $1,500,000 for
each of fiscal years 2025 through 2028 for a public information
campaign or similar public education efforts to destigmatize
individuals in (or interested in joining) the aviation industry who
seek mental health care and to broaden awareness of available
supportive services.
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the Administrator creates
the public information campaign described in subsection (a), the
Administrator shall submit to appropriate committees of Congress a
report describing the actions taken to develop such campaign and the
plans for implementation.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
(A) the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate.
(2) Special issuance.--The term ``special issuance'' has
the meaning given the term in section 67.401 of title 14, Code
of Federal Regulations.
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